All of Europe's biggest indexes closed substantially higher on the day, with gains being led by Italy's FTSE MIB. The MIB closed up by 4%. On a stock-by-stock basis, the MIB was helped by a resurgence in banking stocks, which gave a belated thumbs up to the government's bailout package for Italy's smaller banks.

Three banks, Banca Monte dei Paschi da Siena, Unicredit, and Banca Popolare Emilia Romagna, gained more than 10% on the day, while virtually all banks were up more than 5%. Here's how the MIB looked at the close:

Investing.com

Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 gained 2%, with mining stocks and banks leading the way. HSBC and RBS were among the UK banks to gain more than 6% on the day. Tesco was the FTSE's biggest faller, despite reporting a profit in the financial year to February. The FTSE's 2% gain was the smallest of Europe's major indexes. Here's how it closed: